I wish I could be done with this: relationship, addiction, habit, behavior, thought pattern, etc.

These Victim statements allow us to stay stuck and do not lead to abundant life.

What if I told you there was a really simple formula for changing your life?

Even better, what if there was only one step required?

Would you be interested?

HERE IT IS:

Change your thoughts!

In the rooms of recovery, you will hear this phrase: My best thinking got me here!

In my case, my best thinking got me drunk, which led to severe drug abuse, got me in some really abusive relationships and kept me irresponsible and blaming everyone else for my troubles. My best thinking got me into jails and institutions and a lot of sin and heartache. My best thinking got me a chair in the rooms of recovery. Thank God for that gift.

So, what I learned in the rooms of recovery that was life changing, beyond not picking up the first drink or drug was this:

Think Differently.

Think about me differently.

Think about my life differently.

Change my thinking and then I will recover.

This is a really tall order for most of us. So, let’s start small and change one thought.

What is the one thought that keeps you stuck in old behaviors and patterns of destructive behavior?

I will share one of mine that I am still working through:

If you hurt me, I will shut down and push you out of my life.

I value loyalty in relationships. When I get hurt or I feel misunderstood, I tend to check out in relationships. This does not serve me in my life, because I don’t think God ever wants us to close ourselves off for the possibility of restoration.

He continues to show me my stuff and grow me into the woman He created me to be. I am the woman who chooses the high road and keeps on loving even when that love is not returned. Creating distance is sometimes necessary, but deciding to be DONE with someone is entirely uncalled for.

I have honest teachers in my life who remind me when I get stuck here that God, in His great love for me, gave me so many chances. So, why don’t I choose to extend grace too!

There is a beautiful scripture that captures this idea of “Change your Thoughts, Change your Life”

2 Corinthians 10:5:

We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ.

…casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;

We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

The battle is real. We have an enemy that seeks to destroy us with lies. Let’s fight back with the sword of the Word and take every thought captive. Lets’ reframe and reshape our thoughts to honor God. Let’s renew our minds!

What you say about yourself and what you believe about yourself are shaping your life.

When you change your thoughts and line them up with the truth about who God says you are, your life will be transformed.

Renewing our minds is a daily decision. Your day, your moments are determined by the thoughts you think and even more so by the words you are declaring about those thoughts.

First statement is VICTIM Statement; Second statement is VICTOR Statement:

I will always be late I Am Responsible, Reliable and Trustworthy

I will always be overweight I am Disciplined, Whole, Restored

I will always be alone I am Loved, Captivating and Worthy

CHALLENGE:

Take your most negative thoughts and create a VICTOR Statement to Counter your VICTIM Statemens. Use Scripture or positive characteristics to create your Victor statements. A great place to develop these is with the fruits of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22 and 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith,meekness, and self-control; against such there is no law.

In addition to the chart, I challenge you to create some accountability and support around your Victor Statements.

Ask a friend, family member or co-worker to remind you that you are working on changing your thoughts. A great way to check in with them would be: Would you be willing to call me out when you hear me sharing negative thoughts? Thank them and then welcome their support.

Remember, this is a process. One thought at a time. One moment at a time.

YOU CHOOSE to think God-honoring thoughts, full of His promises and truth

OR

YOU CHOOSE negative victim thoughts, which are keeping you from moving forward and living the abundant life in Christ.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.

Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.